We have a new local offering here folks, and it’s a smartphone that packs a 5-inch HD IPS display, quad-core CPU, dual-SIM functionality, good design, and affordable price tag. Meet the Me Mobile Fuel 5.
If you’re hearing about Me Mobile for the first time, it’s a new locally-based brand that started around 4th quarter of last year. The brand is also known on Facebook as ‘Me Mobile Technology Jpn 13‘. The Me Mobile Fuel 5 is one of their latest models for their smartphone lineup.
At first glance, the Fuel 5 will immediately remind you of one popular smartphone from HTC’s lineup, the Butterfly. Although the design was imitated, the device’s build is well-made that it doesn’t look and feel like a cheap knockoff.
The Fuel 5’s front is dominated with glass with edges that falls off to the sides similar to the HTC Butterfly. Here you can also find the earpiece with a very familiar design, the 2 megapixel front-facing camera, and three illuminated red capacitive buttons which are reminds us of the HTC One X+.
Right on top is the power/lock button and headphone jack while down at the bottom are the microUSB port and microphone. On the right side you’ll see the volume rocker. Both sides are accented with red metallic strips with dimpled finish to aid grip.
Flip it on its back and you’ll see the removable back plate with a glossy finish, the 8 megapixel rear camera with LED flash, and speaker down below.
Overall, the Fuel 5 feels almost premium in the hands. Although mostly made of plastic, it actually feels more metallic except for the rear part which creaks even with a light grip.
Below is our initial benchmark of the Fuel 5 using AnTuTu:
Me Mobile Fuel 5 specs:
5-inch IPS LCD @ 1280×720 pixels, 294ppi
Mediatek MTK6589 1.2GHz quad-core processor
1GB of RAM
8GB of internal storage
up to 32GB via microSD
8 megapixel rear camera, LED flash
2 megapixel front-camera
3G/WCDMA
dual-SIM, dual-standby
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, WiFi Hotspot
Bluetooth 3.0
GPS with aGPS support
FM Radio tuner
Android 4.2.1 Jellybean
Li-Ion 1,800mAh battery
The Me Mobile Fuel 5 has an SRP of Php8,995 and is distributed by Phenomenal Solutions. Stay tuned for the full review in the coming weeks.
YugaTech.com is the largest and longest-running technology site in the Philippines. Originally established in October 2002, the site was transformed into a full-fledged technology platform in 2005.
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jayrwafu says:
ot lng … meron ba ditong “‘pag may katwiran ka ipaglaban mo” section … wrong section yta un ibang comment.. May atraso k b Yuga sa kanila? hahaha
A says:
Usually, sa full review naglalagay si Yuga ng pros/cons. Why can’t we just appreciate the fact na naging aware tayo na may new player sa local smartphone scene natin? I, for one, gusto ko design nito… and that emblem is cool, in my opinion.
Yung battery agad nakita kong weakness ng handset na ito. Wow. But we will see in the full review. Waiting for it~ :)
wew says:
natatawa ako sa comments ng iba kung makapagsalita ng paid daw ung article o bias eh kala mo nakafull review nato.FIRST IMPRESSIONS pa lng po!!tska kung paid to,edi sana puro positive talaga;as in lahat ay positive,walang negative ni katiting.
wew says:
kuha ko,at alam koyan…kaya may mga sponssor ang yugatech.mejo misleading lng ung comment ko…ang tinutukoy kong paid e ung nagbabayad para maging maganda ang review.
abuzalzal says:
You don’t get it do you?
Para makilala ang product mo, dapat may incentive kang binibigay ss isang reviewer (be it a monetary reward or whatever)
Ganyan din ang kalakaran sa TV and print media. Dito sila kumikita
To deny that such things doesn’t exist is naive and ignorant.
CLUELESS lang?
jayrwafu says:
Astig naman ako style at logo… para maiba ang brand.. kung 6k sana marami bibili nyan…
hack__you says:
i dunno what’s the big deal if the unit was sent by the manufacturer or not. i did not see any bias in the report. This is not Philippine padulas culture, ganito talaga ang mga tech blogs, sa pinas man o hinde. Some company sends items for free to gadget reviewers to get feedback, public opinion. they don’t care if it’s a good or bad review unless the item totally suck. paid or not review, they are doing their job.
jajajajason says:
Wow. Just. wow.
Will says:
Unfortunately, this is a product of the culture in the Philippines. Bakit ang daming tech, food and lifestyle blogs dito compared sa ibang bansa? Is it because of demand? Or love for the product? Or did this people just find a way to make money by acting as pseudo mouthpieces of the respective industry?
Bon says:
At the same time that is not the point. Just read a product coverage or review made by a site like GSMArena and one by Yugatech. Don’t tell me Yugatech’s coverage is more objective because it certainly is no contest.
Why is it so hard to admit that this padulas culture in the Philippines is persistent? It is. We are not singling Yugatech out. Nearly all the local blogs are subject to this too. It’s also the fault of the companies locally. The difference is these international sites can be sent a product from a company, completely say that a product is crap (objectively of course) with no shits given, as if there were no repercussions. The companies then take their feedback and often times send them updates regarding what went wrong, etc or any updates.
Yugatech is arguably the biggest tech blog in the Philippines. Not the most technically competent, but still the biggest and with the most influence. Yet they do not have the balls to say a product is crap even if it’s clear it is. Even if they did, they are not objective enough to merit useful data and feedback to be sent back to the companies who gave them the devices in the first place.
The point is they don’t scrutinize. They mainly publicize.
jess says:
HAHAHHA!! pikon rin pala tong si abe. Kung makasalita kala mo kung sino. :)))) halatang guilty e. KUMAG! Mawawalan ka ng reader nyan. Isep isep muna.
Abe Olandres says:
Sorry, that was some anonymous troll using my name and email. If you have been a reader for years, you will know we never ever talk that way.
Unfortunately, we still have uncivilized or uneducated readers/commenters who would rather ruin a healthy and democratic discussion such as this.
Critic says:
Seriously? Coming from Mr. Yugatech himself? What’s up with that kind of response?!
Fake Abe Olandres says:
You want balls? I’ll show you my balls, motherfucker!
Bon says:
This was supposed to be a reply to Drew in the first post. Apologies.
Justin says:
You’re better off with a pre-loved Nexus 4, which you can get nowadays for around P9k (or perhaps even less). The Nexus 4 scores 18-19k on Antutu, plus you get the benefit of Android updates.
woot says:
shiny ng likod. ok to pag bago pa. after few days puro gasgas na to.
marvin says:
Hey yugatech pips, I think the skk mobile platinum is similar to this model, but skk platinum has more powerful specs: 16g rom and 13mp main cam and 8mp front cam. Just check it out. :) its P9,999 by the way.
jizon diaz says:
ang mahal nya para sa battery na ang baba nasa.1,800mah. compare sa starmobile…
Ryan says:
Wallpaper is so cool! Can you rip it and upload it somewhere?!?
Ryan says:
Can’t find the wallpaper @ customize.org, can you just paste the link where you got it?
me says:
it’s available in customize.org. just browse in their popular wallpaper section.
oona says:
Errr… a more expensive OHD 2.0 alternative…
Easy E says:
Dapat may disclaimer kung *paid article* ba ito o hindi. Parang mahal sya sa halos Php9k.
AbuShabu says:
@jolo
So ano pinagkaiba nyan sa pagadvertise sa TV? ang mga advertisers may pablur blur pa ng ibang product para itaas ung sa kanila.
Yet the TV networks are still airing it since they are paid to do so.
And the articles is first impressions, hindi full blown shit review. ive been reading the reviews here for a long time and they have a part at the very bottom where they states what they like and what they dont so why are people are so shitty about the stuff posted here.
jolo says:
@AbuShabu, pat
Kami ay concerned kasi nawawalan ng credibility ang kanilang feedback pag isponsored ang item. Iba naman talaga tono ng review kung sponsored yung item. Kita naman kung may pakanang itago ang cons sa mga feedback. Kung talaga ngang positive ang tono nila dapat palitan na. Dapat mausisa at hindi takot magsabi ng totoo. Buti pa mga kano straight to the point. Mukhang mahilig pala tayo sa bullshit e.
Pat says:
Tama si Abuzalzal wala nman kinalaman sa Article qng paid in cash or in kind ang mga reviewers at please hindi purket pamigay nasa Yugatech ang device eh naging Bias sila. Madalas naman tlgang positive ang tono ng mga articles dito eh.
AbuShabu says:
Seriously, why are people so concerned if these products paid blogs to be advertised or not? ano bang mapapala nyo kung ganun?
Drew says:
That’s exactly the point. It is a fact that brands lend or give out stuff to media/blogs. There’s no one TV network, newspaper or magazine that buys all their own stuff to feature or review. Same goes with international blogs or sites like TopGear, WSJ, GSMArena.
Bon says:
Drew, it’s true Yugatech bought stuff to review. But it doesn’t change the fact that they did NOT buy every single gadget they reviewed.
This culture of tribute or ‘padulas’ is common in the Philippines. Not just with these blogs but elsewhere. There’s nothing wrong with getting freebies. But anyone with a brain can tell if an article is a PR thing, no matter how subtle you put it.
Drew says:
@Easy E, @Millet – YugaTech buys their own gadgets to review. They disclose all the gadgets they bought here.
2013: http://www.yugatech.com/toys-gadgets/gadgets-we-bought-and-reviewed-in-2013/
2012: http://www.yugatech.com/toys-gadgets/the-gadgets-we-bought-in-2012/
2011: http://www.yugatech.com/toys-gadgets/the-gadgets-we-bought-in-2011/
That is over 1.2 million pesos spent in gadgets bought and reviewed here. I suppose that is more than enough proof.
Millet says:
Just because the padulas culture is common here in the Philippines doesn’t make it ethical.
David Guison says:
Bloggers always get free stuff. There’s nothing wrong with that.
Hamish says:
Are you implying that the local tech blogs get “padulas” in exchange for positive reviews and articles?
Easy E says:
Thanks sir Abe and Christy. Yes some international tech blogs put disclaimers at the start of the article. And some local bloggers are given a “token” for publishing PR contents. I know because my friend is a PR writer of several big brands.
Cristy says:
@Easy E
It may not exactly a paid article per se. But it’s pretty obvious that they lent or gave a device to Yugatech to serve as a sort of payment for getting some publicity.
Among local tech blogs, it’s not uncommon to show a bit of “courtesy” towards the companies who send you devices. If you make “a wrong step”, the last device they sent will most likely be the last. =) Thankfully it’s not like that with international blogs.